


After Atlas

by etrinh, Innocor



Category: Call of Duty
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-02
Updated: 2015-08-29
Packaged: 2018-03-20 11:23:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3648492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/etrinh/pseuds/etrinh, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Innocor/pseuds/Innocor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The group earns themselves a break from combat and they take this time to relax and have fun. However, Mitchell is in a constant battle with his thoughts and feelings. We follow him in the journey to win Gideon over as well as win the continued war with Atlas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Uncertain

**Author's Note:**

> This is my very first fanfic i have posted to the internet so bear with me. I loved Advanced Warfare so I only see it fit that I continued the story line. I hope you enjoy! 
> 
> -Innocor

After the death of their CEO, Atlas experienced a major downfall in power and market value. Governments soon took back control of trade routes and global networks. All known locations of Manticore production lines and storage facilities were quickly raided and destroyed. However, some things just couldn’t be changed. Jonathan Irons was a very smart and convincing dictator, and with any dictator comes followers. His loyal followers would continue his mission even without him there to guide them. There were still pockets of Atlas ground forces across the globe, all of which possessed a handful of armoured vehicles, heavy artillery, and attack helicopters. One by one, the Sentinel Task Force, under the orders of the United States, worked aimlessly to force the remaining Atlas troops to cooperate or face execution. Sentinel had no patience to deal with anyone who objected.

* * *

“It's great to finally relax, eh Gideon?” Mitchell asked cheerfully, raising his beer.

“To be honest, I’ve never liked parties, but if I were to choose anyone to celebrate a victory with, it’d be you guys.” Gideon replied, looking happily at Ilona, Mitchell, and Joker.

Mitchell couldn't focus on anything whenever Gideon was around. After having his life saved by him, Mitchell constantly had this burning feeling in his chest. He didn't know if it was love or the pain from warfare. He always noticed these little things Gideon did for him even while they were in the heat of battle. Gideon's sexuality was a mystery, as were many things with him, but Mitchell'd always assumed Gideon was straight. This meant Mitchell also couldn't help but felt inferior to Ilona's striking beauty.

" _How am i gonna compete with a beautiful woman like Ilona?_ " He would often think to himself.

“Joker! Go get us a few beers, won’t you?” Ilona ordered with a slight chuckle.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t get your undies in a knot.” Joker rebutted.

“Panties in a twist,” Gideon corrected, "ain't that right, rookie?"

Gideon gave Mitchell a wink, making the private's heart flutter.

"And Joker, make sure it's ice cold for the pretty lady won't you?" Gideon added, shooting Ilona a cheeky smile. "Wouldn't want to disappoint."

Noticing the gesture, Mitchell excused himself and headed towards the washroom. Mitchell's mind was racing with jealous feelings. It was like he was being lead on by his Captain.

Thinking until he made himself angry, Mitchell burst through the doors of the washroom shouting.

“FUCK YOU GIDEON!”

The janitor standing inside stared at Mitchell with an extremely shocked and confused look on his face.

“You alright there, Jack?” he asked.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know anyone was in here.” Mitchell said. The janitor set down his mop, walking over to Mitchell and setting a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey son, I don’t want to be creepy, but while I was cleaning your quarters I came across you journal. I read your latest entry-” he explained.

“Wait, you read my journal?!” Mitchell exclaimed. When he was by himself, Mitchell would take the time to record random events and thoughts into his journal as a kind of time capsule of his life. Sometimes he’d write about his missions or members of his squadron, but the majority of the entries were about his love for his brave, and albeit, handsome captain.

“Yeah. Sorry, aha. But hey, if you really feel that strongly about ol’ Gideon you should tell him! I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.” the janitor continued.

Mitchell turned to face himself in the mirror. His scars were recovering well and his new prosthetic was almost complete; a carbon copy of his old one. Sentinel had harvested all the data form Atlas databases before the headquarters were destroyed. There was a lot of advanced technology nobody had ever heard of including an LMG/Shotgun hybrid directed energy weapon named "Ohm", and many other directed energy weapons. They had also found the schematics for a prosthetic arm, likely the one Mitchell had previously. As gratitude for his duty, Sentinel gifted Mitchell a new prosthetic as a kind of “medal of honour”.

“Hey, did you hear me?” the janitor asked, knocking Mitchell out of his daze.

“Yeah, sorry. I guess I could try, I’ll have to sleep on it.” Mitchell replied. Turning away from the mirror, Mitchell left the washroom to return to the party.


	2. Confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After his rambling in the bathroom, Mitchell comes out to find his crew has disappered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!

Mitchell uneasily walked back into the common room, only to find that everyone had left. He ran back and checked all the living quarters, finding them empty as well. His mind racing, Mitchell began to panic.

_“Where the hell did everyone go?"_

The rooms looked like they had been ravaged by a tornado. Before Mitchell had the chance to process anything, the emergency alarm went off, accompanied by a not-so-soothing female voice shouting through the loudspeaker.

"Attention all Sentinel personnel, you are to evacuate the area immediately. Head to your nearest exit, there will be soldiers there to load you into vehicles. This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill. All foot soldiers report to the main armoury immediately.”

The message was repeated and the sirens continued to blare into Mitchell’s ear drums as he weaved his way through the halls.

"What the hell is going on?!" he screamed out, running as fast as his legs could carry him to the main armoury.

* * *

It was very dark outside, with the only light coming from the eerie red glow of the emergency lights. The wind was cold on Mitchell's cheeks as he ran, his hair bouncing up and down across his face.

In the distant courtyard,  thousands of soldiers stood all suited up and ready to go. VTOL warships were lined up on the airstrip as their engines roared to life one by one.

 _"Who knew so much could happen when you're in the bathroom?"_ Mitchell thought.

Once he reached the armoury he looked around for someone to talk to. Lo and behold his very own captain was getting suited up nearby.

"Mighty good piss you had there, mate?" Gideon said sarcastically. 

"I'll piss on you if you don't tell me what the hell is going on.” Mitchell shot back.

"Overlord has reported that HQ has found an operational underground Atlas manufacturing facility. They're creating directed energy weapons, lasers, microwaves, as well as a triple barrelled shotgun. We need to evacuate everyone else because we do not know if the weapons are operational or not. They could attack us, so we're going to try and attack them first."

"Triple barrel shotgun? That sounds sick as fuck!" Mitchell exclaimed. Gideon just smiled and shook his head, kneeling down to fit his boots into his exo suit.

"Come on mate, get suited up, we're rolling out."

The feeling of the exo suit as it clenched onto Mitchell's wrists was all too familiar. He knelt down and straped in his boots into the exo. As he stood up he felt a breath exhaled onto his face. Uncomfortably close, Gideon stood in front the private.

"Aye, Jack? We've been through a lot, and at this point we've become good friends. This is just a factory like the one we took down before, though I’m not sure if this one has a T740 Hovertank.”

Gideon laughed at his own joke, staring down nervously at his boots.

"Please, don't die on me mate." Gideon said, looking back up with his jet blue eyes.

“You’ve got it, Captain." Mitchell reassured, grinning at Gideon. He wasn't sure if he could keep his promise, but he'd sure as hell try.

* * *

Mitchell joined his squadron outside, an orderly grouping of thirty or so soldiers on foot including Joker, Ilona, and his captain.

Gideon had to speak over the noise from the raw power of the VTOL's engines. The realities of war flooded Mitchell's memory.

"ALL RIGHT, GRUNTS, IT'S CRUNCH TIME! WE'RE HITTING THE NORTHEAST SECTOR OF THE FACILITY! IT'S A BIG PLACE SO YOU MUST FOLLOW MY LEAD! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"

All the soldiers shouted together, signalling their understanding.

"HOO-RAH!"

"LET'S GET EM!"

"HOO-RAH!”

And with that the squad moved up the ramp of the airship, footsteps booming in unison. Mitchell took a seat next to his three best friends. They all exchanged nods and smiles. The cargo bay doors closed, forcing dust and dirt into the chamber, but it seemed like everyone was too nervous to notice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to etrinh for the edit!


	3. Crash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disaster strikes on the VTOL. And of course by disaster, I mean a missile. :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very short un-edited chapter to kick off the return! Sorry I left this fic for too long! ): Writing more soon!

The engines droned on loudly as the soldiers shuffled around the cargo bay. The dim lights casted streaks of light around the bay making the sweat shine on their faces. Mitchell was shaking violently.

 _'Fuck fuck fuck I'm so god damn scared_.' he thought.

Gideon placed a warm hand behind Mitchell's neck.

"Hey you good, mate?"

"Hardly." Mitchell replied. His shaking slowed down as they sat there together. To Mitchell's surprise, Gideon slowly started rubbing his neck.

Suddenly screams could be heard from the cockpit. The loudspeakers in the bay screeched on.

"Brace for impact!"

Missiles could be heard whirring around outside. A sudden jerk threw the ship violently sideways. Mitchell was thrown off his seat as the ship spiraled downward leaving a trail of smoke behind it. Mitchell's eyes met Gideon's one last time as his heart skipped a beat and the ship impacted the dirt below.


	4. Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haunted by the fear of losing his friends Gideon continues the mission without them.

The smoke and dust made it hard to see but Gideon felt his way around, trying to remember what the bay had looked like. The ship was in many pieces and the faint smell of gasoline lingered. Rather than searching for an exit he was looking for his good pal and secret crush, Jack.

"Jack! If you hear me talk to me mate. Ilona! Joker!"

"Captain is that you?" A nervous voice called from behind Gideon whipped around with excitement, but was disappointed to find out it was just one of the soldiers from his squadron. Not that he wasn't glad they were okay, of course.

"Yes, son, speak to me." Gideon replied.

"You need to get out of there captain it's not safe."

"Says who? I don't leave anybody behind and that's that!" Gideon's voice was shaky. He didn't mean to yell at the kid.

"Sorry sir, but we still have a mission to carry out. I'm sure your friends made it out safe." Gideon eased up and gave the soldier a pat on the shoulder as he walked out of the wreckage. He was greeted by his squadron, or what was left anyway. He had about half as many soldiers as he had stepped into the ship with.

"Alright team, there is a rescue team on it's way to search through the wreckage, no doubt about that. But we still have a mission to complete. Gear up and let's move." 

* * *

 

"Shh shh, enemy patrol dead ahead. Don't do anything stupid. Alright James pick a target and I'll mop up." Gideon's focus was uncomparable. He was the best commander in all of sentinel and highly respected. What he says, goes.

There are three targets, at the sound of James' silenced gunfire the one on the very right falls. Gideon is swift to take down both targets with two shots in quick succession.

"Targets down, move up."

* * *

 

 The teams swept through the building quickly and managed to find intel linking to locations of other camps. Suffering only a handful of casualties at the expense of taking down a group of a couple hundred soldiers, the mission was deemed a success. Gideon always felt uneasy about that.

The ride back home was usually Gideon's favourite part. The squad would all stand up and celebrate, the pilot would usually bring a bottle of something on board for them. Usually just some cheap liquor that was lying around. This time however he did not have anyone to celebrate with. He didn't need liquor to stay awake, just thinking of Mitchell and the others not returning from that wreckage was going to be enough to keep Gideon awake for hours.


	5. Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mitchell awakes in the middle of nowhere only to realize that his team has disappeared. And worst of all, his captain is gone as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! I've mainly been editing this fic as it's developed and this is the first chapter that I've written myself. I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> -etrinh

The sky was hazy much like Mitchell's vision. The silence was intense and heavy, enough to cause concern all alone in the forest. As far as Mitchell could tell, everyone had either deserted or died. Looking around from where he was laying, he could see that the plane had crashed roughly fifty or so metres from where he was. The fuselage was still on fire and bits of scrap metal were strewn everywhere. Sitting up slowly, Mitchell checked himself for any major injuries, but was relieved to find that the only damage done was to his prosthetic. Even then, most of it was cosmetic. Standing up, Mitchell realized why no one had come to get him. The ground between his feet and the burning fuselage was scorched black, indicating a large blaze had happened prior.

 _'Gideon must've not been able to find me.'_ he thought.  _'That is, if he did try to find me...'_

Trudging around, Mitchell heard a loud static coming from inside a bush. Walking cautiously towards the noise, Mitchell rustled around inside the bush to find that the static was coming from a radio belonging to one of the many soldiers in the squad. Hesitantly, Mitchell attempted to contact Sentinel.

"This is Sentinel Two-Two, reporting to HQ. If you can hear me, please send evac to my coordinates, over."

His request was met with silence.

"Fuck me." he muttered, before catching himself.

 _'Jeez, I've been hanging around Gideon for way too long.'_  he thought.

Out of nowhere, the radio came back to life, buzzing loudly as a voice incoherently attempted to come through.

"Mitchell?"

It sounded like the voice was coming from ... Ilona.

"Ilona? Is that you?"

"Yes, yes it is. I can't seem to lock onto your coordinates. Where are you?" she replied.

"I'm not sure, I can see the burning plane and that's about it." Mitchell stated.

"Alright. If you don't move, I'll search around the perimeter of the plane and hopefully I'll find you."

The radio blipped and then once again fell silent. Mitchell was relieved to know that he wasn't alone but it still didn't help that he didn't know whether or not his captain was safe. He wanted to search for him, call out his name, but he knew better than to make his situation worse than it was. His mind flashed images of Gideon; his strong face, his slightly unkempt beard, the way his eyes looked when he smirked...

"Mitchell!" Ilona called out, snapping the private out of his daze. Mitchell immediately ran over and gave her a strong hug.

"What do you suppose we do now?" asked Ilona.

"I'm not sure, but since I was able to contact you through this radio, I'm sure we could contact HQ if we can somehow get into a clearing." Mitchell stated.

"I was actually very close to an open area earlier, why don't we try going back." Ilona suggested.

"Good idea!"

* * *

 

Sitting by himself in the common room, Gideon was brooding alone with a heavy heart. The alcohol and food from the party earlier was still scattered all over the place. Most of the rest of the squadron had gone out for drinks, while a few soldiers stayed back and went to bed. Gideon thought he'd be among the latter, but falling asleep just wasn't possible right now.

 _'Where are they?'_ he thought.  _'It's been too bloody long.'_

Growing restless, Gideon got up and left the common room, headed towards the sleeping quarters. Mitchell occupied the room next to his, and just as he was about to enter his own room Gideon noticed that Mitchell had left his door open a crack. Hesitating, Gideon pushed the door open the rest of the way and let himself in. Looking around Gideon scoffed at the various posters tacked onto the walls of Mitchell's room. There were posters of his favourite bands, the latest cars, as well as some Atlas and Sentinel promotional posters that had Gideon, Ilona, Joker, and Mitchell on them.

"What are you Mitchell, 16?" he said quietly to himself.

Walking over to the private's nightstand, Gideon saw a rather cute picture of the both of them together that Mitchell had taken while Gideon had passed out drunk one night after a successful mission in New Baghdad. Also on the nightstand was Mitchell's open journal. Gideon resisted reading the journal, knowing better than to snoop through the private's personal business, but he couldn't help but notice his own name written in neat cursive multiple times on the page.

"No, it can't be." he said to himself, turning around to leave Mitchell's room. Before closing the door behind him, Gideon turned back around to stare at Mitchell's empty bed.

"Good night, Jack. I hope I'll see you tomorrow."


End file.
